Wagering game terminals, such as slot machines, video poker machines, and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for years. The popularity of such terminals among players generally depends on the perceived likelihood of winning money at the terminal and the intrinsic entertainment value of the terminal relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing terminals and the expectation of winning each terminal is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are most likely to be attracted to the more entertaining and exciting terminal. As a result, wagering game terminal operators strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting terminals available, since such terminals attract frequent play and provide increased profitability for the operators. Consequently, wagering game terminal have added increasingly advanced and sophisticated features over the years in terms of their operational and display capabilities.
Due to the advanced features coupled with rich graphics, the data processing capacity required for wagering game terminals has also increased over the years. Most wagering game terminals now require microprocessors and other data processing circuits that run at very high clock speeds. The high clock speeds cause the microprocessors to generate large amounts of heat to the extent that some type of cooling system is usually required to maintain the microprocessors within specified operating temperatures. This trend is likely to continue as new generations of microprocessors are designed that run at increasingly faster clock speeds. Thus, microprocessor cooling systems that provided sufficient cooling for a previous generation of microprocessors may become inadequate for the next generation. As a result, equipment and components that were purchased for the earlier generations of microprocessors may suddenly become obsolete, and additional costs may need to be incurred to acquire new parts.
Moreover, while other microprocessor-based applications have seen a number of advancements in cooling systems, these advancements have not always been transferable to wagering game terminals. This is due partly to the fact that wagering game terminals are required to follow certain regulatory standards, whereas other microprocessor-based applications may not. Personal computer manufacturers, for example, often design their hardware to be modular in order to keep up with one or more industry-wide practices, such as “Socket 7” for microprocessors. Manufacturers of wagering game terminals, on the other hand, are often required to maintain the same hardware design for a certain period of time, even where microprocessors are concerned. Consequently, microprocessor cooling systems for personal computers have not always been compatible with wagering game terminal hardware.
Accordingly, what is needed is a way to develop improvements in microprocessor cooling systems for wagering game terminals. It would be particularly useful to be able to develop these improvements in a way that makes use of existing equipment and components.